Syracuse, NY -- He is part of the wave of the future but is making noise in the present, crashing into anyone wearing a different-colored jersey, preferably the guy with the ball.

That is the niche Lewellyn Coker, a true freshman linebacker in waiting, has carved for himself on the Syracuse University football team.

“To sum it up, he’s fearless,” said SU middle linebacker Derrell Smith, the player Coker hopes to someday replace. “He’s fearless when it comes to contact.”

That was evident on two SU kickoffs during Saturday’s 45-14 loss to Pittsburgh in the Carrier Dome. There were few memorable moments in that affair – at least positive memorable moments – but Coker provided two of them. On one Pitt kickoff return he sent a would-be blocker flying backward some 5 yards and onto his rear end. On another, the opening kick of the second half with the Orange behind 28-7, he blasted through two blocks and leveled Pitt returner Cameron Saddler with a resounding thud at the Panthers 21-yard line.

“It felt good,” Coker (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) said of the big hit. “That’s what I wanted to do in the second half – get it started right and have us believe we could come back and win.”

That is exactly the attitude head coach Doug Marrone wanted when he offered Coker a scholarship coming out of Warren G. Harding High in Ohio. Coker will again be on special teams when the Orange (4-2, 1-1 Big East) faces West Virginia (5-1, 1-0) at noon Saturday (ESPN2) at Mountaineer Stadium, a venue he visited in high school while be recruited by the WVU.

“I really like contact,” Coker said. “I’m not one to run from contact, so anybody who tries to block me, I usually hit him. I don’t care if they have the ball or not, but I’d rather hit the person with the ball.”

Naturally. Coker’s knack for doing so recently has caught the attention of head coach Doug Marrone and linebackers coach Dan Conley.

“Within the last three weeks,” Marrone said. “He runs with the second group, sharing time (at middle linebacker) with Malcolm Cater. He was a little further behind coming out of fall camp, but I’ll tell you what: The last three weeks he’s really coming along. He’s starting to read his keys now and trigger better. He is a very physical kid. He’s quick . . . quick explosiveness.”

“He’s like a young Derrell Smith,” Conley said. “He’s very explosive. On that kick coverage team he has a great knack for getting downfield and being disruptive at the second level. People are going to start to scheme for him, try to ambush him. Our whole kickoff team is filled with freshmen, and all of them run well and hit. Lewellyn epitomizes that.”

Coker said he knew it was going to be tough to break into the lineup with senior stars Doug Hogue and Smith manning two of the three starting linebacker positions. That noted, he said he was surprised by how much learning was required.

“As a freshman, there’s a lot of stuff you have to handle,” he said. “It’s very hard. When I came here I thought everything was just going to come, like I was going to have it just because I’m a good football player. It didn’t happen like that. You have to work to learn the plays. You have to work hard, which is not a problem (for me). I’m just learning how to manage my time and get everything together.”

Coker said he can feel it coming. Marrone can see it.

“Guys like him and Cater and Brice Hawkes (all true freshman linebackers playing on special teams), they’re learning how to play linebacker,” Marrone said. “And the thing is they’re into the game plans, they’re learning how to study, and they’re also learning about the speed of the game and what it’s going to take for them to be successful and play a position on the defensive side of the ball.”

They are the hope for future. In the meantime, they are making an impact on special teams in the present. Lately, Coker’s fearless desire for contact has stood out.

“It’s going great,” he said. “It’s showing every game. Every day just gets better. The freshmen . . . we’re making a difference.”